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As the boss, the health and safety of your warehouse team is your top priority. Right now, your safety record is good, but you’re always searching for ways to improve it.

Private industry employers reported 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While this is a decline from the 2.8 million reported in 2019, there’s still a lot of work to do — including at your warehouse.

4 Top Warehouse Safety Hazards and How Your Staff Can Avoid Them

Slips, Trips, and Falls

A warehouse is a busy place filled with workers bustling from one side to the other. Slips, trips, and falls often happen because of clutter, protruding objects, and slick floors.

Thankfully, these hazards are easy to avoid by putting a few warehouse rules in place. Avoid them by ensuring pallets and goods aren’t left in the middle of the floor, placing non-slip mats and adhesive striping on floors, and ensuring all parts of your warehouse are well lit.

Falling Objects

There are a lot of items stored in your warehouse. Many are stacked way up high, and if they’re not properly secured, they can tumble down and hit someone.

There are several ways to avoid falling object accidents, including using pallet racks to store products, stacking products on racks built for their weight, loading racks evenly, placing the heaviest items on the bottom, and installing safety nets. Putting these protective measures in place might require an initial monetary investment, but it’s money you can’t afford not to spend.

Operating Machinery

When used the right way, the heavy machinery found in warehouses is safe, but unfortunately, accidents are all too common. When workers aren’t trained properly, or machinery isn’t serviced on a regular basis, there’s a much higher chance of someone getting hurt.

Accidents, like workers getting caught in or compressed by equipment or objects and being struck, caught, or crushed by machinery, can cause serious injury or even death. Machinery accidents also commonly result in amputations, lacerations, and electrical burns.

Avoid this by ensuring all workers are properly trained on every piece of equipment prior to use. You should also provide refresher training on a periodic basis to make sure their skills stay fresh.

Hazardous Material Incidents

Many warehouses store hazardous chemicals. When properly handled this is relatively safe, but accidents tend to happen when correct safety protocols aren’t followed.

Both physical — i.e., fire and reactions with other chemicals — and health issues — i.e., skin irritation and eye issues — can be caused by hazardous chemicals. Several steps must be taken to reduce hazardous material incidents, including properly labeling substances, storing chemicals correctly, and handling them the right way. Minimize incidents by thoroughly training workers and ensuring proper PPE is provided to everyone who needs it.

Need help finding new hires who take warehouse safety seriously? Wood Staffing is here to help your Northern Indiana or Southwestern Michigan company find the perfect fit. Contact us today to learn more!